Tuesday, 17 April 2007

Community Service

It's the end of my first week in the Blogosphere, and thank you all for making me feel so welcome! My clever stats counter tells me I've had visitors from UK, USA, Australia, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Canada, Malaysia and Montenegro... so I'd best stop making my jokes Britain-specific. Oh, before I forget - well done everyone on the Twins In Literature challenge - very impressed, and must seek some out. I do like reading about twins, if only so I can complain how unrealistic the portrayal is...

I don't know about you, but I sometimes feel a little like that cartoon - but in a good way. My 'e-friends' form a lovely book group, but the nearest I get to contact is a computer screen. Which shows both the advantages and shortfalls of this Internet Age - the former outweighing the latter, when it comes to finding likemindedly-bookish people. So, to make the little links on the side make more sense, I thought I'd talk you through the 'People to see...' This won't be news to a lot of you, but... well, humour me. For others - come on, meet my friends and neighbours. Some of them will spell it 'neighbors', but we love them anyway.

Random Jottings - (see pic) I talked about Elaine in my Delafield posting - one of my longest-standing e-friends, and guaranteed to give illuminating conversation on anything to do with Victorian novels or opera. And, of late, she's been branching into Modern Literature (we console each other on having to tread past 1950; she's doing much better than me) - thanks to...Dovegreyreader - Is there a man, woman, child or animal who does not know of dovegreyreader, otherwise known as Lynne? Well, I knew her BEFORE the fame. Yes. And one day I will use my connections to advantage. One day. The blogging queen, and hub of the community - the one who will drop in with a tray of biscuits to make sure you're settling in the village.

BlueStalking - The third blog artiste I've known from her younger days as a mere internet-user. Lisa is a librarian-something-or-other-soon-to-be-bona-fide-one, lives out Chicago way, and is an extremely funny lady. Possibly the person with the closest reading taste to mine that I have met... She's also a sports fan. But we can let that pass.

The Carbon Copy - he's actually listed as 'Colin', but you get the picture. Don't be put off by the fact that his website is devoted to a soap opera character; just click the diary button, and be amused by the funniest person I know, and the best (only...) brother I ever had.Crafty Person - (see pic) again, known from my days on a book list devoted to Persephone Books, though how Ruth got there I can't imagine - has to be rather cajouled to get through a book, but is wonderfully craft-orientated to make up for it. Some lovely photos.

Cornflower - talking of beautiful pictures, Karen is something of an expert with the camera. Sees the extraordinary in the mundane, and shares many with her visitors - and, of course, is also extremely bookish. Do stop by. Karen also pointed me in the direction of 3191: beautiful photographs taken every morning, by friends 3191 miles apart.

Janice's Reading Diary - (see pic, below) Came across Janice's site while bored and clicking on the 'next blog' function of blogger.com - very glad I did! Janice puts up images from her reading journal, wonderfully illustrated and collaged. Lots of variety, too - something for everyone, hopefully!

Harriet Devine - more books! Are you spotting a theme? I've only come across Harriet in the last week, so you'll all know more than me - but do get into the draw for a free copy of the wonderful Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman - now!

Daphne Sayed - Everyone from my Persephone-list days (ongoing days, I might add) seems to have made a blog - Daphne's is quite new, like mine, but she'd welcome visitors nonetheless!

Lost in Translation - Another one that everyone else knows about, but I've only popped in a few times, so I'll just flag up another great place for book-chat.

My Other Haunt - if all the literary talk overwhelms you, all my lowbrow conversation takes place over here... Expect lots on Neighbours, the soap opera.

Phew! Well, tired? Me too. At least you can now put descriptions to (type)faces!

5 comments:

Oi Simon, I do FINISH books, just not that many. I just haven't managed to arrange my life to give me much time. My commute to work is only a baby commute - leass than 15 minutes each way so I probably get about 12.5 reading minutes in each direction. Add in a minute or two waiting on the platform and that make about halff an hour a day. All would be fine if a little limited but unfortunately I have quite a lot of "train friends" and in reality I only get to read when none of them are on the train.Due to the short bursts of rading that I manage I have a liking of short stories. I'm currently almost through the Virago collection "Such Devoted Sisters".

And Karen, Karen, Karen - dovegreybooks@yahoogroups.com is the Persephone list (though we wander to pretty much any books, Persephone is still a sort of centre of agreed taste). A search on yahoogroups.com should yield it... let me know if you're still having difficulty!